DLLR: Prison inmates received unemployment

The audit of the Division of Unemployment Insurance, which was released Friday, found that the agency did not periodically review whether people getting unemployment benefits were incarcerated, had the same address as others also getting benefits, or were DLLR employees. In a sampling, auditors found that four incarcerated people were paid about $17,700 in benefits between June 2012 and December 2013.

I am surprised that it was not much more, especially after counting people who are only locked up for very short periods while they are getting benefits. $17,700 is about 40 weeks of max benefits or little less than 2 beneficiaries maxing out on 26 weeks of benefits over 18 months out of a total Maryland population of perhaps 4 million adults. The minimum UI unit is a week of benefits; not everyone gets the maximum payment in a UI week, but this is not massive fraud or overpayment.